KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — After returning to the fold of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last month, K. Letshanaa is determined to show her ‘real fangs’ at the Sudirman Cup tournament in Suzhou, China which will open on May 14.
Letshanaa, who is currently ranked 76th in the world, is trying to step up the intensity of her training with national women’s singles coach James Chua, to address all her weaknesses.
The winner of the 2023 Uganda International Challenge, however, is still looking for a compatible pace in the challenging training regime introduced by James upon her return to the national squad.
“I am happy to be in the Sudirman Cup lineup and hope to do my best because I don’t want to disappoint the coach.
“My last team tournament was the Uber Cup (October 2021) and after that, I left BAM (February 2022)…so this (Sudirman Cup) is my biggest group (team) tournament after returning to BAM,” she told reporters at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara, earlier today.
Letshanaa also has a big dream of being in the top 50 in the world at the end of this year, thus having the opportunity to participate in high-level tournaments.
“The current ranking (76th in the world) is quite low so I think the Sudirman Cup can boost me to a higher level in an individual tournament,” she said.
Letshanaa left BAM last year following a back injury.
Also strengthening Malaysia’s challenge at the Sudirman Cup are Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong (men’s singles); Aaron Chia – Soh Wooi Yik, Teo Ee Yi – Ong Yew Sin (men’s doubles); Goh Jin Wei, Letshanaa (women’s singles); Pearly Tan – M. Thinaah and Go Pei Kee – Valeree Siow (women’s doubles).
The four mixed doubles in the national squad in this competition are Teng Jie – Ee Wei; Hoo Pang Ron – Teoh Mei Xing; Tan Kian Meng – Lai Pei Jing, and Goh Soon Huat – Shevon Lai Jemie.
— Bernama
